The Onion Happening Place

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Leftover Onion

Wasteful or Wise?

In a land far away, there is a homemaker who often serves raw, thinly sliced onions. During meals, each family member is free to select what amount he or she wants… in a lettuce or cabbage wrap sandwich, added to black beans, or whatever the meal. At times there are leftover onion slices. Does she place them in the refrigerator to be used the next day? Does she enclose them in a plastic container with a tight lid? Does she enclose them in a glass container with a lid? What does she do with those leftover onion slices? She sets them in a glass bowl and positions that as a kitchen table centerpiece, where it generally remains until the next morning.

WHY?

Backtracking a few thoughts… Are you aware that some people put onion (or garlic) on the soles of the feet of their loved ones when they are extremely sick? Truly, they do. Usually they do it at night when the person will be in bed anyway. They slice an onion, rub olive oil on the feet of their loved one, sometimes use plastic wrap to bind the onions to the soles, and place socks over the wraps to hold them in place.

Placing them on the bottoms of the feet gives onions access to the body’s internal organs through meridians within the body. Skin delivery is one of the best delivery mechanisms because it bypasses stomach acids and goes directly into the blood. Due to properties beyond my understanding to relate… the onion works as an internal mop, absorbing toxins as it passes through the body in the blood. (The story of how the blood itself is then cleansed is written about in kids' science books, for starters.)

SUMMARY: Evidence suggests that onions absorb toxins. Our homemaker friend and her family do not eat leftover onions. She feels that even when their refrigerator, their house, and their bodies are at their cleanest, they still harbor toxins. Consequently, she prefers to use the leftover onions as her kitchen’s natural air purifier. Is this wasteful?

Our preferred use for leftover onions is steeping them in hot water while we are in the kitchen anyway – you guessed it – washing dishes. Later, we strain the onions and drink the nourishing room temperature onion water before bedtime. Could this be called "tea time"?

Sometimes we have no leftover onions, yet have a nourishing "onion tea" anyway. While preparing our meal, we wash the peels (when they are nice) and add them to hot water. Later, we remove those well-steeped peels, and drink this onion water/tea before bedtime.

Each version has its benefits. If I had to choose one above the other, it would the second. Obviously, we often have "onion tea evenings", since we almost always cook with onions!